Keir Starmer promised British voters the Labour Party would put public service at the heart of a “mission-led” government after years of Conservative scandals. Barely two months in, his premiership is mired in awkward stories about political donors,

Keir Starmer might have been expected to signal political differences with Giorgia Meloni. Instead he endorsed her approach to repressing migration, showing how much liberals have swallowed the far right’s agenda.

Is it a problem for Starmer that he's top of the freebie league table? What did Alex learn travelling with the PM to Italy? You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”.